Circle Battery Widget Introduces 1% Battery Increments for the DROID X and Other Motorola Phones

This is going to sound super silly to anyone that doesn’t have a Motorola phone, but to those of us that do, this news is monumental.  The developer behind Circle Battery Widget somehow figured out a way to get batteries on Moto devices to show up in 1% increments instead of the standard 10% that we’ve been stuck with for all these months.  The app itself is as simple as it gets and is free in the market, so I highly suggest you check it out if you are one of those constant battery checking OCD persons.  Oh, and we of course love the fact that it fits into almost all minimalist themes.
Download Link (Free)
Cheers Luda!

Source: DroifLife

ROM: Project Elite V5 Released for Original DROID, Brings Lots of Gingerbread

When Actngrezy and mojo_droid first told me about Project Elite back in December, they still seemed unsure on how the world of DROID gurus would take it.  Well, after seeing our State of the DROID ROM-o-sphere, I think it’s safe to say that they were happily accepted and according to our audience, are the top OG DROID ROM on the planet.
Last night they released Project Elite V5 which is their take on an AOSP Gingerbread ROM, meaning you should probably take a look at this right away if you are still rockin’ the original.
Download:  PEGBv5.zip |  Changelog

*FULL WIPE REQUIRED.

Full support and info about PE5 can be found at their site.

Source: DroidLife

A Few Motorola XOOM Purchasing Notes

Many of you have probably already gone to a Best Buy or Verizon store to pick up your Motorola XOOM, but we wanted to toss out some additional information in case you were on the fence still…

• Verizon does NOT require a data package when you purchase a XOOM.  Actually, they NEVER did and the reports that they were going to were made up.  It was always Best Buy that was requiring this.  You can opt-in to a 2-year contract and pay $599 or go without a plan for $799.  If you choose to go without a plan, you can then decide at any time to pay for a month-to-month package.
• Best Buy has now informed their employees that activations are no longer required.  Yep, their mandatory minimum 1-month package is no longer required.  (Cheers M!)
• More from Best Buy:  They released a press note mentioning that they would NOT price match Verizon’s $599 2-year contract deal.  We are hearing a variety of reports on this deal from readers though.
• Edit:  Buy Back is not free on XOOM, only phones.
• The 4G LTE upgrade site from Verizon is live and you should sign up to be notified when you can get your XOOM upgraded.  http://phones.verizonwireless.com/xoom/upgrade/
• No, I haven’t heard ANYTHING about the wifi-only XOOM.

And here are a couple of the accessories in action…

 Source: DroidLife

Motorola XOOM “Vendetta” Commercial is Only Missing the Word “DROID”

The full XOOM commercial is now available on Verizon’s YouTube channel and you’ll notice right away that this thing probably had the “DROOOOID” sound bite at the end, but for whatever reason was pulled last minute.  We had heard all along that this would be DROID-branded and this commercial speaks to that and also makes us very sad.  We love our DROID brand and this would have been the perfect addition to the best lineup of Android phones around.  And enough of my complaining; check out the new spot after the break. 

Source: DroidLife

Clockwork Recovery Says “Hi!” to the Motorola XOOM in Just 2 Hours

Clockwork Recovery on the Motorola XOOM in 2 hours…we love you Koush.  And I say “2 hours” because he was on his way to pick one up 2 hours ago, so really he probably did it in less.  Silly.
And now we just need root, which we have to assume will happen in the next couple of hours.  Maybe.

Source: DroidLife

Tip: Save 25% OFF a $799 Motorola XOOM Without a Contract (That’s $200) (Updated)

Update:  The coupon code has been fixed at Motorola’s site since it was allowing people to order discounted XOOMs when it should have just been discounting accessories.  The good news is that Motorola reached out to us to confirm that they will honor all orders placed before the coupon code was pulled.  A ton of you received one heck of a deal.  Might want to tip your glass to Moto tonight.

_________________________________

This might be the deal of the century right here people.  If you want to pick up a Motorola XOOM and pay just $600 for the non-contract version (the $799 version) then follow these steps immediately.  This is not a scam, not a joke, but is absolutely the real deal.  And if you just purchased one from Best Buy or Verizon, you may want to consider returning it to save yourself a couple hundred bucks.
So how is this possible?  With the Chad OchoCinco News Network (OCNN) 25% off coupon code of course.  If you remember during the Super Bowl, OCNN was giving away 25% off coupon codes for the Motorola store and they aren’t expiring until March 15th.  And guess what?  You can use them on a XOOM.
Coupon code is:  OCNNSB25
MOTOROLA STORE

Apply that code at checkout and you are golden.  I do want to point out that the device is showing currently as “unavailable”, so you’ll want to continue to watch it hoping that they release more.  Oh, and you can apply this to your accessories as well.
If for some reason that code is no longer working, try registering at this site for a new one.
All credit goes out to XDA member Droid.Modr for this one!

Source: DroidLife

Add March 10th to the List of HTC Thunderbolt Release Dates

The big rumor running around tech sites today suggested that the HTC Thunderbolt would be out next week on March 3rd or 4th, but the screenshot we just received from our friends at Best Buy suggests that it’ll be another week after that.  March 10th is apparently the date that BBY is expecting to launch the phone and we’re of course skeptical, but at least it’s not from a random guy in a forum.  Can you all wait another couple of weeks?
Cheers C!

Source: DroidLife

Barnes & Noble says Nook owns one quarter of US e-book market, we don't doubt it

There are many players in the e-reader world, but few have managed to gain any sort of traction. Though it hasn't achieved Kindle levels of success Barnes & Noble is taking pride in saying that its Nook series of readers has conquered 25 percent of the US e-book market. The company doesn't cite any specific sales figures to back up that number, but we'll go with it. Sadly, though, there's another 25 percent number that is detailed and isn't nearly so positive: that's how much the company's profits dropped from this period last year. That was said to be due to heavy investments in the Nook but, despite that, B&N managed to post a $60.6 million profit -- certainly better than some of the competition.
Source: Engadget

NEC's razor-thin MEDIAS N-04C Android launched in Japan, gets carefully manhandled

We've already seen product shots of the crazy thin, drool-inducing NEC MEDIAS N-04C, but for a product boasting the "world's thinnest" title, it's always useful to see comparison shots for the sake of our curiosity. Thankfully, the good folks over at Akihabara News were present at DoCoMo's launch event, and they were able to get up close to inspect this 7.7mm-thin Android 2.2 handset (with Android 2.3 upgrade available around July). It's pretty amazing considering all the goodies packed within this phone -- here's a quick recap: NFC, 1seg TV Tuner, infrared port, 5 megapixel camera, 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 chip, etc. Oh, and this phone uses Gorilla Glass, too. If you happen to reside in Japan -- which is where it'll remain exclusive to -- you'll be able to pick up this NEC in black or white flavor on March 15, though price has yet to be announced. Video after the break, and more hands-on photos over at Akihabara News.

Nec Medias N-04C - Docomo Press Conference from SpacePigTV on Vimeo.

Source: Engadget

Sprint pulls Epic 4G Froyo update, cites data connectivity and SD card issues

Well, we're not quite sure what the trouble is with firmware updates for Samsung phones this week, but another one's just been pulled days after it was rolled out. This one affects the Epic 4G, which has now seen its recently released Froyo update pulled by Sprint, which says it's received reports of SD card issues and data connectivity problems from customers who've already installed the update. Still no word as to when a new update might be rolling out, but Sprint says that those who have already taken the plunge should be able to fix any problems with a hard reset -- after they backup all their data, of course.

Source: Engadget

Official Android 2.3.3 updates for Nexus One and Nexus S unearthed, available to the impatient

Waiting sucks, doesn't it? Yes, yes it does -- which is why we're delighted to see that direct links to the official, final updates to Android 2.3.3 for the Nexus One and Nexus S have both been turned loose. This is especially exciting news for Nexus One owners who've stayed on the straight and narrow and haven't moved to a cooked Gingerbread ROM already, since they're still on Froyo -- but it's also good news for developers working on NFC apps with the Nexus S and Android's freshly-baked NFC API, since it means they'll have real-world devices to start playing with. So go on, get to it -- we know you're not going to wait for the over-the-air notification anyway.

[Thanks, Will]

Source: Engadget

Toshiba AC100 smartbook gets Android 2.2 upgrade

Smartbooks may not have exactly caught on as the next big platform, but one of the more notable examples out there is now at least a bit more of an interesting option than it was before. That would be Toshiba's Android-based AC100, which has finally gotten the Froyo upgrade that was promised last fall. According to Carrypad, that upgrade brings with it a "noticeable performance boost," not to mention Flash support, and access to Toshiba's own application store, the Toshiba Market Place. What's more, the site also notes that the smartbook has recently received a fairly significant price drop, with the WiFi-only version now available for around €200 (or about $275, 3G will cost you an extra $50 or so). Head on past the break for a video of the update process and results.

Source: Engadget

Android Market adds e-books; movies and music soon to come?

The Android world's been a-buzz this last week over a few new Android Market URLS, including http://market.android.com/music/ and http://market.android.com/movies/. In case you thought there was nothing to this tip, guess again: the third member of this trifecta (http://market.android.com/books/) has gone live. That's right, visitors to the Android Market can pick up Glenn Beck's mile-a-minute thrill ride The Overton Window for a mere $9. We hope that takes some of the sting out of the fact that a Google Music launch wasn't part of this month's Honeycomb event -- although if we had to wager a guess, we'd say that the company will have Music and Movie offerings soon enough.

Source: Engadget

HTC Incredible S shipping this week in UK, will come with Froyo to start

Though it'd originally been pegged for the second quarter, it seems HTC's bumping that up a smidge with the launch of its new flagship -- the Incredible S -- in the UK this week. Pre-orders are going on as we speak with shipments promised for tomorrow, but there's a catch: rather than shipping with Gingerbread, the phones will come with Froyo to start with an upgrade to Gingerbread promised for the near future. Buyers, we've got a little homework for you: if you're feeling adventurous and in a warranty-voiding mood, try to figure out what's going on with those auto-rotating capacitive buttons, alright?

Source: Engadget

Android Activations Visualized [Video]

The folks behind the Android Developers YouTube Channel have posted the visualization video from MWC that showed the progression of Android activations since its inception. I’m not exactly sure how accurate the visualization is, but the huge spikes after the Motorola DROID’s and the Samsung Galaxy S’s respective launches are close enough for me. Expect for that chart to keep on growing. Video is above.

Source: Phandroid

Motorola's Atrix 4G help videos make learning your new phone a breeze

Motorola really went overboard with this one. Moto has posted thirty videos online that outline all the features of the highly anticipated, Motorola Atrix 4G. The videos cover everything from entertainment, importing contacts, using webtop to print, setting up corporate email, etc.
If you've been itching to see the Atrix in action, but don't want to leave your computer, you'll want to check out all the videos after the break.

Change How Entertainment Happens	PC-Like Experience	The Most Powerful Smartphone
Accessories	Importing Contacts From SIM Card	Using QuickOffice
Accessing Email With webtop App	What Is webtop	Portable Hotspot
Frequent Flyer Tips	Protecting your Information	Accessing your Phone from webtop
Calling from a Web Link	Filtering the Messaging Widget	Battery Manager
Setting Up Personal Email	Email Search	Setting Up Corporate Email
Texting and Typing Options SWYPE	Add Contacts to Your Home Screen	Managing Contacts
Phone Basics	Printing from webtop	Browse-N-Go
Responding to Notifications	Creating Bookmarks on webtop	Switching Windows
Docking During A Call	Webtop application basics	Entertainment Center

Source: AndroidCentral

HTC Inspire 4G review

The HTC Inspire 4G is AT&T's first foray into 4G data, and the carrier picked a very nice package for the debut.  The Inspire is beautifully constructed with high-grade materials, and it shows the world that the Captivate wasn't just a fluke -- AT&T is seeing the light and getting on board with Android in a big way.

But like everything else, it's not perfect.  Hit the break and see my impressions of the HTC Inspire 4G after using it for a week, and decide if you like what you're seeing.

When we first got the Inspire 4G Phil had a look at it and gives us a bit of a walkthrough.  You can read about that here, and the video itself is below.

YouTube link for mobile viewing

The Hardware

The Inspire 4G makes a very good first impression.  It's basically the same phone as the Desire HD, which is a very good thing to be.  Its aluminum unibody construction -- as in a single piece of metal -- is sleek, and it gives everything a solid look and feel. But because of the unibody shell, the battery door and SIM card cover are difficult to remove.  As in VERY difficult.  Having a device with a removable battery, then designing things so removing the cover is as hard as a Chinese puzzle, is a pet peeve of mine, so please, allow me to rant just a bit.  And yes -- it is that hard.

 

Everything else about the phone's design is very well done.  The camera lens does protrude a bit, much like the Evo 4G, so you'll want to watch for scratches. But the placement of things like the microphones (there are two for noise-cancellation), the earpiece speaker, the volume rocker and the power button (thanks for putting that on top where it belongs HTC) are all easy to reach while holding the phone. And they extend away from the phone's body just enough to find them by feel, but not enough to constantly get "bumped" accidentally.

I can't seem to grab some phones without hitting the volume rocker or power button (hello, Nexus S), and there's none of that with the Inspire.  The only other thing I can say I'm not feeling is the 3.5 mm headphone jack placement on the bottom of the phone.  That's starting to become a trend, and my guess is it's a conspiracy by Bluetooth manufacturers to force me to stop using wired headphones.  Or possibly that's where it fits best -- I'm sure it's one of the two.

 

 

 

The pictures really don't do the Inspire justice.  This is one you need to hold in your hand to appreciate the design, and I'm sure a salesman at your local AT&T store would be happy to oblige. 

That leaves us with one last thing about the build of the phone to discuss -- the size.  The Inspire is a big phone.  It's 4.84 inches in height, 2.68 inches in width, and 0.46 inches thick (123 x 68 x 12 mm) and weighs 5.78 oz (164 g).  It's really no bigger (and in some areas it's not as big) as the Evo 4G but size still may be an issue for you.  I'll say right here that I think the Inspire is a great phone, and one of the nicest I've used -- but I couldn't use it as my daily device simply because of the size.  You may feel different, and sales numbers from the Evo and the Droid X tell me that many of you do.  I simply want to remind anyone considering this one to think about it, and decide if you can deal with a phone this big.

 

In the specs department, the Inspire 4G is no slouch.  It's not the game machine that some other phones will be, but for those who don't need an Xbox 360 in their pocket, the Inspire proves, that great software on top of good hardware can make for a better user experience than raw horsepower can.  

Under the hood you have essentially the same hardware that the MyTouch 4G debuted:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 @ 1 GHz
• 768 MB RAM
• 4 GB ROM, 1 GB available for applications
• 4.3 inch capacitive LCD display @ 480x800
• 8 MP (rear) camera with 720p video capture
• Android 2.2.1
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n WiFi
• FM radio (87.5-108MHz) with RDS
• AGPS
• 1230 mAh removable (good luck with that) battery
• GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz
• UMTS 850, 1900
• HSPDA, HSUPA*, HSPA+

*Technically, the Inspire 4G is fully HSUPA compliant, but AT&T has said the Inspire 4G is incapable of HSUPA.  This is a software limitation.
And the benchmarks:

YouTube link for mobile viewing

The Inspire has the second generation of the Snapdragon processor, and it's very good hardware.  Unless you're interested in the future of gaming on Android, this hardware will do everything you need.  I know we're all tired of hearing and seeing Dungeon Hunter come up, but the Inspire 4G handles it just fine.  Of course if you want extreme performance, you might want to rethink and buy the Atrix.  It's going to do animation and 3D better than the Inspire 4G will.
What I liked most about the hardware:

• The construction materials.  Use Aluminum, manufacturers -- learn this please.  Hold an OG Droid, or a Nexus One, or the Inspire 4G.  It feels good.  Then hold my Nexus S.
• The camera.  I liked it enough to have it's own section below.
• The "protrusion length" of the controls.  The barely there thing works well.
• 768 MB RAM.  HTC realizes 512 isn't enough when applications are pushing things to the max.  It's the PC hardware race all over again.

Where I feel it's lacking:

• No front facing camera.  To me, it's a gimmick I'll never use, but for many it's a great addition, and one they should have the option of using.  On the flipside, AT&T knows more than anyone what happens when you overload a network.  See below.
• No HSUPA.  Queue Keyshawn Johnson -- "Come on, man!"  Hey, AT&T: It's your network, and I really do understand what you're afraid of, but you did advertise this one as being 4G.  Most of us don't care what technology it is, or what you call it, as long as it's fast.  When you cut it in half and advertise it as fast, we get cranky.
• The headphone jack is on the bottom of the phone.  This just bugs me when the phone's so big, and they still couldn't find a way to put it up top.  Yes it works fine, and I'm probably being nit-picky, but that's what I'm supposed to do -- find the little things that you might not while holding the display unit.
• The battery cover.  I'm thinking it has to be such a tight (and solid) fit for normal operation, because of the contacts.  With a tight fit, the battery won't be sliding back and forth fiddling around with the power.  If you break the contacts, the phone won't power up.  If the battery door isn't tight, the contacts won't mate.  Whatever the reason, they should have engineered it just a bit more.  Maybe that was a Friday project.

The hardware works as it should.  Phone calls are clear on both ends, WiFi is strong and solid, the FM radio works as well as the clock radio on my nightstand does, and there were no showstopping bugs from anything during my time with it.
Battery life is relatively poor, but you should expect that with a small battery and a big screen.  The location and method of holding the battery is going to make an extended model a bit of a trick, and swapping batteries is never going to be fun with the way the battery cover fits.  Stay close to a charger.

The Camera

The camera on the Inspire 4G is a big improvement over the usual HTC fare.  It's 8 megapixels, has a dual flash, and captures video in 720p. And it does it well.  I'm a point-and-shoot kind of guy.  Digital photography is a lot of fun, but fiddling and adjusting settings are things I leave to others.  I admire you guys who can do it well, but I need a camera that works good when I push the button, and the Inspire 4G delivers.  The stills look as good as any entry level point and shoot camera, and the video looks better.

 

 

The only thing lacking is the sound.  I expected better, especially with the "Dolby mobile srs wow HD label" on the back.  I am definitely not wowed.

The camera software is done nicely, as is usual from HTC.  You have several filters installed, and you can touch focus on any area in the viewfinder.  It also has all the usual settings for resolution, geotagging, and photography functions, and they all work as they should.  It's safe to say this is the best camera we've seen on a HTC device yet.

 

The software

 

The new HTC sense is still HTC Sense.  The home and launcher is seven screens on which to place very large and beautifully done widgets, that hooks deep into the operating system.  Besides the addition of a dedicated reader and bookshelf application/widget combo and the new customizations menu, you won't find much difference on the surface between the last iteration and this one. 

 

Once you dig a little deeper, you'll see some changes.  The biggest thing the end user is going to notice is the HTC Hub and HTC likes apps.  HTC likes is simple enough, it's an app that helps you find other apps.  I don't see the need, but maybe you will -- different strokes for different folks and all that.  HTC hub on the other hand, a whole lot of you are going to love it.  If you like to download media and fiddle with the look of your homescreens, switch themes, or use custom ringtones you'll love HTC hub.  There are literally hundreds of wallpapers, themes, widgets and sounds to play with, and all are free downloads from HTC. 

 

 

 

 

The new HTC Sense really shines in the performance department.  When combined with the new Snapdragon, and 768 MB of RAM it's a real treat to use.  Even if you're not a fan of HTC Sense you will appreciate the level of polish and responsiveness of the Inspire 4G's user interface.  I'm sure there are a lot of minor differences spread through out the new HTC Sense, and we'll have to discover those as we use it.  Just know that while it stays faithful to what we've seen before, it does it all smoother and faster than we're used to.  The bar has been raised Samsung and Motorola, and if you insist on giving us skinned Android you need to make it at least this good.

I don't want to skip over HTCSense.com.  While it's not as flashy as HTC hub, it's a great addition to Sense.  From HTCSense.com you can locate, lock and wipe your phone should you lose it.  You can also forward messages and calls from one number to another, which is awful handy if you're unable to use your phone for any reason.  You'll sign in during the setup and then you use the web interface to administer your Inspire.

Hackability

HTC continues its love/hate relationship with the "Android is open" crowd once again with the Inspire 4G.  Once hacked and everything is unlocked, the partitions and methods HTC uses with Android on the Inspire are really familiar to anyone whose dug into an HTC device before.  The hard part is the journey there.  Not that rooting the Inspire is hard, but it uses methods and tools the average Android fan isn't going to be familiar with, and there's plenty of room for error.  Most people will look through the method, and say forget it due to the complexity of it all.  And that breaks my geeky heart.
Once properly rooted, it was a matter of flashing a couple files via a custom recovery to have it HSUPA capable. I was prepared to be buying this one, but reverting things back to stock was a simple affair as long as it's done in the correct order.
Bottom line -- you're going to have to learn a bit to root and hack the Inspire.  That's not such a bad thing, but it may not be what you're used to.

Wrapping it all up

While there's competition coming right around the corner, this is the best phone on AT&T, and the first phone I've used that is a true competitor to the iPhone for the average consumer.  It's no "iPhone killer", because that doesn't exist.  But it's easy to use, looks great, is well built and provides a great user experience -- some things we don't always see with other phones.  I've enjoyed my time with it (something that isn't always true) and would recommend it to anyone who was comfortable with the size, and knows they will be able to use a charger when they need to.
HTC has done this one right.

Source: AndroidCentral